Day 9: The Bible is a Challenging Book

"God said it, I believe it, and that settles it." So goes the bumper sticker.

But what should a parent do with Exodus 21:17: "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death"?

If King Saul visited a medium, should we (1 Samuel 28)?

If David had six wives, is polygamy "biblical" (2 Samuel 3:2–5)?

To understand the meaning of Scripture, we need to employ the techniques of biblical hermeneutics, the term used by scholars for interpreting language. The word comes from Hermes, the Greek god who was believed to have brought the words of the gods to mortals. Biblical hermeneutics is the study of Scripture, seeking to know what it meant and what it means today.

Why is this field necessary?

Because the Bible can never mean what it never meant.

The challenge of interpretation

In understanding Scripture, it is crucial that we learn what God intended the author to say and then apply that intended meaning to our lives and world.

God intends us to understand his word. But the book he inspired is very old. Its authors finished writing during the Roman Empire. Their words were being read seventeen hundred years before the founding of America. The Bible was written for a very different society from ours.

This makes the Bible challenging to interpret.

It's hard for us to interpret Jesus' command, "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matthew 5:41) unless we know that Roman soldiers were permitted to force their subjects to carry their military packs for one mile.

Why you should do the work

The challenges inherent in biblical interpretation may cause you to wonder if you are up to the task. Isn't this what my pastor should do?

When you're sick, you consult a doctor. When you need to fly, you trust the pilot. Why do you need to interpret the Bible for yourself? Why not trust the "professionals"?

Because God wants to meet you personally in his word.

He doesn't want you to have a secondhand faith. When Christians depend on the Bible study of others, they are subsisting on secondhand spiritual food.

Be encouraged as Paul encouraged Timothy: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

God's Spirit will help you interpret his word.

He said it.

Do you believe it?